Colon drops Bucs to .500

Associated Press

New york

Two hitters got healthy and Bartolo Colon kept his fans happy. All in all, a rollicking night for the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Neil Walker and Michael Conforto provided an immediate jolt in their return from nagging injuries, and Colon helped himself with a crowd-pleasing double in pitching the banged-up Mets to a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

“Anytime you’re entertained, it helps, you know? And he’s entertaining,” manager Terry Collins said. “We just didn’t want him to blow out running around those bases.”

Curtis Granderson set a Mets record for leadoff homers, while Walker also went deep and had three RBIs against his former team after missing the previous three games with a sore lower back.

Conforto, who hadn’t started since Saturday, landed on his ailing left wrist when he saved a run with a sensational diving catch in the first inning. Showing no ill effects, the left fielder followed Walker’s two-run shot in the third with a home run of his own to snap a 5-for-54 slump.

“I think the four days helped a lot,” Collins said. “I saw much better bat speed today.”

Colon (6-3) lashed a line-drive double up the right-center alley earlier in the inning and scored easily on Yoenis Cespedes’ deep sacrifice fly, drawing a giddy roar from the crowd of 33,052 following his dicey jaunt around the bases.

“I don’t like to run very much, but I imagine the fans have a lot of fun watching me,” Colon said through a translator. “Thank God for Walker and Conforto’s home runs. That gave a little bit of chance to catch my breath and I was able to come back even stronger after that.”

The beefy right-hander took a four-hit shutout into the eighth and won his third consecutive decision, a streak that began on the eve of his 43rd birthday last month.

He allowed two runs and seven hits in 72/3 innings, striking out a season-high eight and walking none.

“I don’t think he ever ceases to amaze us,” Walker said. “It’s pretty impressive. Everybody loves him.”

All three Mets homers came off Juan Nicasio (5-6) as the Pirates (33-33) fell to .500 with their seventh loss in eight games.

“They’ve got some left-handed hitters that are good down and in, and the ball ended up down and in,” manager Clint Hurdle said.

Andrew McCutchen homered in the ninth and had three hits for Pittsburgh, ending an 0-for-18 drought that was the longest hitless stretch of his career. Matt Joyce connected for his 100th career home run.

Trailing 6-0, the Pirates chased Colon in the eighth and rallied for four runs in the final two innings. But the comeback fell short when slumping Erik Kratz flied out with a runner on third to end it.

Jeurys Familia got three outs for his major league-leading 22nd save. He has converted a club-record 38 regular-season chances in a row dating to last August — though he did blow a four-run lead in the ninth inning of a game this year.

After losing 10 of 11 to Pittsburgh, the Mets took the final two matchups in this three-game set between 2015 playoff teams.